With the rising speculations over the third wave of coronavirus, an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras alumni led startup has developed India’s first 3D-printed ‘doffing units’ with intentions to safeguard healthcare workers.
Doffing which means, the process of removal of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), requires proper sanitisation. Doffing units are a necessity for doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers. It allows them to sanitise themselves after their shifts, safely removing the PPE kits and it’s proper disposal. This eliminates the risks of carrying the infection with them.
A startup founded by IIT Madras alumni, Tvasta. It has collaborated with Saint-Gobain and are looking forward to developing a 3D-printed doffing unit amid the speculated third wave. With the third one under construction, two of these units have already been launched.
Both the launched units are in Chennai. The first one is at a government hospital in Kancheepuram, the second at Omandurar Medical College and Hospital. The third unit after it’s completion will be up at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Thiruvalluvar.
The 3D printed units offer a unique advantage,it lowers the presence of construction workers close to a hospital where the admitted COVID-19 patients are. These units are printed offsite and the assembling is done at the hospital itself. The startup prints these Doffing Units at Perungudi near Chennai and transports them in a modular manner.
How to conduct doffing?
According to the US-based Centre for Disease Control (CDC), here’s how doffing has to be conducted:
- Removal of gloves: using the glove-in-glove technique for minimal contamination
- Removal of the gown: reach up to the shoulders and carefully pull the gown down and away from the body post rolling it up
- Make sure to attend to hand hygiene
- Removal of the face shield or goggles: do not touch the front of the shield or goggles while taking them off
- Without touching its front part, remove and discard the facemask
- Sanitize yourself again.
Earlier in May, the Civil Engineering Department of IIT Madras collaborated with Chengalpattu Medical College & Hospital (CMCH) for the same cause: to design and develop doffing units for healthcare workers